Protecting Tennessee's students from obscene materials is 'no-brainer.' Why is there an issue? | Opinion

• Congressman Mark Green serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees. He represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.
• Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger is a licensed pharmacist and former small business owner representing Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District.

One of the most challenging and rewarding responsibilities in the world is educating and safeguarding future generations.

COVID-19 and school closures have made the past two years incredibly difficult, but parents and educators proved themselves to be real-life superheroes. They worked countless hours and sacrificed so much to ensure our children receive the best education possible.

Our children spend their most formative years as students, and schools are meant to guide them through important milestones. Schools are responsible for educating our children on the basic principles of our observable world, how to engage with one another, and how to participate in society.

It is imperative that our children learn the basics of health and sciences, the founding principles of our nation, and of the good, bad, and ugly sides of our shared history.

Our schools must rise to the challenge of balancing the encouragement of our children’s natural innocence as they’re exposed to new ideas and curriculum. Walking the fine line is their commitment to our students.

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This is not an inconsequential responsibility

To give this issue the attention it deserves, we must ask ourselves: do we see this expectation reflected in all our schools? The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding “no.” 

Reports are surfacing across our country of schools neglecting their duties. In our schools, children are being exposed to widely inappropriate and harmful materials that fundamentally alter their understanding of the world.

In a Williamson County, Tennessee, school board meeting, a group of parents recited material they find harmful in their children’s school. One after another, a group of parents read excerpts from these graphic books that were either on the Savvas recommendation book list or available for students to check out from the school library.

The readings were so graphic that the school board had to mute the public livestream as the parents were reading. Children as young as 10 years old had access to books describing, in explicit detail, acts such as rape, drug abuse, sexual assault, and incest, to name a few. 

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Protecting children is crucial part of a parent's job

Tennessee is not the only state grappling with the exposure of these materials. As Governor Bill Lee is responding to this crisis and working with the General Assembly to pass legislation to protect our children, other states, such as Texas, South Carolina, Virginia, and many other states report almost identical scenarios where graphic books, even those portraying pedophilia, can be found in schools.

That is why we introduced the No Obscene Teaching in Our Schools Act, which prohibits any federal funds from being disbursed to schools that are in violation of their state’s laws on material deemed harmful to children.

This new bill ensures that schools violating their basic task of protecting their students are refused federal taxpayer dollars and gives power back to the states to redistribute federal dollars away from schools breaking states laws. It creates a new 529 education savings plan account for parents and students to use in lieu of attending schools that contain inappropriate materials.

We cannot sit idly by while taxpayer-funded schools betray our trust by exposing our children to obscene material. If school administrations and executive boards across the country cannot be trusted to obtain appropriate curriculum and resources suitable for children, report and remove explicit and pornographic materials, or allow parents to be informed and demand their removal, then they have failed in discharging their sacred duty to educate and protect.

For most of the year, we entrust schools with our children and their education. We trust them to create an environment where learning, creativity, and growth can thrive. We must restore trust in our schools and their ability to properly educate our children. With the  No Obscene Teaching in Our Schools Act, we can ensure that our children are protected and receive the quality education they deserve.

Congressman Mark Green is a physician and combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq. He serves on the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees. He represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District.

Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger is a licensed pharmacist and former small business owner representing Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District.